Enforcement Machinery
The Registrar of Trade Unions is the authority charged with the duty of administering the provisions of the Act. The Labour Commissioner, Haryana is appointed by the State Government as Registrar of Trade unions .The Joint Labour Commissioner, Haryana is appointed as Additional Registrar for the purpose of exercising and discharging the powers and functions under the superintendence & direction of Registrar. (section 3) What Should a Trade Union/Factory owner know about TRADE UNIONS ACT,1926.
Registration of a Trade Union
Every application for registration of a Trade-Union shall be made to the Registrar of Trade Union, Labour Department, 30 Bays Building, Ist Floor, Sector-17 Chandigarh in Form-A(TU)
.
A copy of the rules of the Trade-Union must be attached with Application Form.
A Statement should also be enclosed consisting following particulars namely:-
(a)The names,occupation and address of members making the Application.
(b)The name of the trade-union and the address of its head-office
.
(c)The titles, names ,ages, address and occupation of the office bearers of the Trade-Union ,as per Schedule-I(TU).
The fee payable for the registration of a Trade-Union is Rs. 5/- only. (Section 5)
Fee shall be deposited in treasury under head-"0230- Labour & Employment –102-Registration of Trade-Unions, 1926
A Trade Union shall not be entitled to registration under this Act unless the executive thereof is constituted in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the Rules thereof provide for the matters contained in section 6 of the Act. (As per schedule-II of the Rules) (Section 6)
A general statement of the assets & liabilities of Trade Union as per schedule-III(TU) must be attached with application form where a Trade Union has been in existence for more than one year. (Section 6)
The Registrar may call for further information for satisfying himself as to whether the Trade Union is entitled to registration or not. (Section 7)
If the name under which a Trade Union is proposed to be registered is identical or resembles with any other registered Trade Unions, the Registrar may direct the applicant to alter the name of the Trade Union stated in the application. (Section 7)
The Registrar on being satisfied, shall register the Trade-Union by entering in a register in Form-B(TU). (Section 8)
The Registrar on registering a Trade Union shall issue a certificate of registration in FORM-C(TU) which shall be conclusive evidence that the Trade Union has been duly registered under this Act. (Section 9)
A Certificate of registration may be withdrawn or cancelled by the Registrar if the certificate has been obtained by fraud or mistake or the Trade Union has ceased to exist, or wilfully contravened any provision of this Act or has rescinded any rule. (Section 10)
At least two months previous notice in writing shall be given by the Registrar to the Trade Union before the certificate is withdrawn or cancelled. (Section 10)
The annual return to be furnished by the union shall be submitted to the Registrar by the 31st day of July in each year in FORM-D(TU)
. (Section 28)
Every registered Trade Union shall be a corporate body.
For any change or alteration in rules, a written request should be submitted to the Registrar of Trade Union.
On receiving a copy for an alteration to be made in the rules of a Trade Union, the Registrar, unless he has reason to believe, shall register the alteration in a register and notify the facts that he has done so to the Secretary of the Trade Union.
The fee payable for registration of alteration of rules shall be rupee one for each set of alteration made simultaneously.
Any person who has attained the age of fifteen years may be a member of a registered Trade Union. (Section 21)
No person of Trade Union can become the member of the executive or any other office-bearer of a registered Trade Union unless he has not attained the age of eighteen years. (Section 21A)
Not less than one half of the total number of the office bearers of every registered Trade Union in an unorganised sector shall be persons actually engaged or employed in an industry with which the Trade Union is connected and in other cases all office bearers of a trade union, except not more than one third of the total number of the office bearers or five, whichever is less, shall be persons actually engaged or employed in the industry with which the trade union is connected (Section 22)
Any two or more registered Trade-Unions, may become amalgamated together as one TU. with or without dissolution or division of the funds. (Section 24) Appeal
Any person aggrieved by any refusal of the Registrar to register a Trade Union or by the withdrawal or cancellation of a certificate of registration may file an appeal before the District Judge or Additional District Judge or before the Labour Court or an Industrial Tribunal where the head office of the union is situated in the area falling within jurisdiction of such a court within sixty days of the date on which the Registrar passed the order. (Section 11)
The appellate court may dismiss the appeal or pass an order directing the Registrar to register the union and to issue a certificate of registration and the Registrar shall comply with such an order .
In the event of the dismissal of an appeal by any court other than the High Court, the person aggrieved shall have a right to appeal to the High Court. (Section 11) Rights & Liabilities of Registered Trade Union
Every registered Trade Union shall maintain the following books & registers to facilitate the audit of its accounts (Section 17, 18 & 20):-
Register of membership & subscription in FORM-E(TU)
Register of receipts & disbursement of the general fund account .
Minutes book to record the proceeding of all meetings.
Register of stocks, tools & plant to show the furniture, fitting and valuable documents relating to the immovable property of the Union.
Machine numbered subscription receipt book .
Register of receipts and disbursement for the political fund (if exists).
A file of vouchers.
The annual audit of the accounts of any registered Trade Union or Political fund shall be conducted by an auditor authorized to audit the accounts of companies under section 144(1) of the Indian companies Act, 1913.
Any document in the possession of the Registrar received from a registered Trade Union may be inspected by any member of the union on payment of a fee of annas eight for each document inspected.
The Registrar may supply a copy of any document to a registered Trade Union or a member thereof on payment of annas six for every hundred words or fractional part thereof.
The register of Trade Union shall be open to inspection by any person on payment of a fee of annas eight.
A registered Trade Union may constitute a separate fund from contribution separately levied for or made to that fund from which payments may be made for the promotion of the civic and political interests of its members.
Trade Unions may constitute separate fund for political purpose as well as general fund.
General fund shall be spent on the payment of salaries, allowances of office bearers, for administration of Trade Union. including audit of account, for defence of any legal proceeding or conduct of Trade disputes, for compensation of members for loss arising out of Trade-disputes, allowances to members independents on account of death, old age, sickness accidents or unemployment, on policies of assurance on the lives of members, for provisions of educational, social or religious benefits for members Periodical published mainly for discussing questions affecting employers or workers etc.
Political fund shall be spent on the prospective conciliate for election as a member of any legislative body, holding of any political meeting distribution of any literature, maintenance of any person who is member of legislative body, registration of electors, etc.
The Trade Unions Act ,1926 is one of the important central legislations designed to regulate the working of The Trade Unions. It lays down all essential provisions for the registration of Trade-unions and in certain respects defines the law relating to the registered Trade-unions.
Applicability of the Act
Any seven or more members of a Trade-Union may apply for registration of Trade Union under this Act. Trade-union means any combination, whether temporary or permanent, formed primarily for the purpose of regulating the relations, between workman and employer or between workmen and workmen or between the employer and the employees or for imposing restrictive conditions on the conduct of any trade or business and includes any federation of two or more trade unions.
Provided that no trade union of workmen shall be registered unless atleast ten percent or one hundred of the workmen, whichever is less, engaged or employed in the industry with which it is connected are the members of such a trade union on the date of the application for registration. (Section 4 & 2(g))
